Republican photo by DAVID MOLNAR
Jackie French Koller, author of Book Stop's recently completed series, "The Liberty Pole," poses with some of her books at her The Little Black Dog Gallery & Bookshop in Westfield.

Did you know?Jackie French Koller, author of Book Stop's recent series, "The Liberty Pole," lives in Westfield where she also owns "The Little Black Dog Gallery & Bookshop" on Union Avenue.

The series was read by students in over 100 area schools through their participation in the Newspaper in Education program at The Republican.

Koller is the author of over 30 books for children and young adults, including "The Dragonling" series (Simon & Schuster), "One Monkey Too Many" (Harcourt), "Nothing To Fear" (Harcourt), and "If I Had One Wish" (Little Brown) which became the 2003 Disney TV movie, "You Wish."

"The Liberty Pole" has run in many newspapers since 2003 including The Boston Globe and The New York Post.

Anne-Gerard Flynn

Newspaper in Education editor Anne-Gerard Flynnrecently asked Koller about her inspiration for "The Liberty Pole," where three girls on Martha's Vineyard prevent the British from using as a ship's mast a pole erected in memory of a Vineyard resident who died fighting the British in the Revolutionary War.

You can visit Koller online at blackdoggallery.com or jackiefrenchkoller.com.

Classes who would like to submit questions to Koller can do so by e-mailing aflynn@repub.com

Flynn: What inspired you to write "The Liberty Pole?"

Koller: I was out in Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard and saw the flag pole and the plaque dedicated to the three girls. I became intrigued and went to the library to learn more about the story. I loved the idea of these young girls taking such decisive action. We hear so little about female heroines of the Revolutionary War era.

Flynn: Why did you decide to present the effect of war and occupation through the eyes of young women? How did you develop Nell, Polly and Maria and how do you see them as different from each other? How much do they represent young women at the time?

Koller: Nell, Polly and Maria were real girls. I dug up as much info as I could about them, but the facts were pretty sketchy, so then I fleshed them out by putting myself in their time and place and thinking a lot about who they might have been and what would have motivated them to react so strongly.

Times were very different back then, don't forget, and it would have been VERY unusual for young women to take such actions, but the people of Martha's Vineyard were a hearty and independent lot and I can see where young Vineyard girls might have been more likely than their mainland counterparts to have had the gumption to act in the way they did.

Flynn: How much research did you do for the story and how did you decide what factual information to insert?

Koller: I inserted most of what I could find. I researched the Tisbury historical archives and some online genealogical sites, then I used that info as a skeletal background for my characters.

Flynn: Why in the story is it not revealed to the other characters as far as who actually blew up the pole? By making Polly and her friends women of action, how much do you hope that dismantles the stereotype earlier of "girls have wagging tongues."

Koller: I think the girls would have remained silent for many reasons. Fear of reprisal for one. The war was still on and if the British had discovered the truth there may have been punishment. Also, maintaining their anonymity would have allowed them to act secretly and successfully again if circumstances warranted. Lastly, I think they had the satisfaction of knowing that they had made a difference and that was enough for them.

Flynn: Was it difficult to write a realistic story about war for a young audience? The English Private Abel Butler is not an unsympathetic character-- what did you hope to show through his portrayal?

Koller: Yes, war is a hard topic, especially when we are currently involved in a war. I made Abel a sympathetic character because I think he represents many young soldiers - bravely doing what they are required to do, but not really relishing the job - often not even really sure it's the right thing that they are doing. I don't see war as a black and white, us good - them bad, situation. There are so many gray areas in war - any war. War itself is the evil. There has to be a better way for people to settle their differences.

Flynn: The story gives a good sense of the villagers trying to evaluate and understand what is happening to their port and their lives and to decide through debate the best course of action. How important was it to you for the story to have this sense of immediacy and of events unfolding with no clear-cut approach always at the ready.

Koller: It was important for me to present the situation as accurately as possible. There were different opinions, and different loyalties and they had to be explored. Presenting a simplistic, one-sided picture would have been cheating my readers. As I've already said, situations like this are seldom black and white.

Flynn: The adults at times are like a chorus in the background. To what extent did you want to portray war as involving the sacrifice of the young. How sad for you was it to have Caleb killed in war and why was his death necessary to the story?

Koller: Again, I felt that I had to be honest about war and the truth is, young people fight and die in much larger numbers than older people. I hated to have Caleb die, but that's the sad truth of war. I felt that the girls had to have a very strong motivation for taking matters into their hands the way they did. Caleb's death provided that emotional trigger.

Flynn: What advice would you give young people interested in writing?

Koller: Practice makes perfect. Just like playing the piano or playing a sport, if you want to write you have to write and write and write. And read the best books you can get your hands on. There is no better teacher than a great book.

Flynn: Are you currently at work on any books?

Koller: I have four little grandchildren, ages 3 months to three years, so I am getting lots of inspiration for picture books right now. My newest one - "Peter Spit a Seed at Sue" - will be coming out from Viking Press this spring. I'm also thinking about expanding "The Liberty Pole" into a complete novel. It was very hard for me to keep it as short as it had to be for newspaper publication and I'd like the opportunity to spend more time with these characters and flesh out their story. I've had a lot of requests for "the book" as a result of the story appearing in newspapers all over the country, so it would be nice to have a "real" book to offer readers.

Flynn: Where were you born and how do you come to live in Westfield and what are the challenges of having a book store? What books would you recommend for young people to read?

Koller: I was born in Derby, Conn. and lived in a variety of places before settling in Westfield 15 years ago. I came here with my husband when he accepted the job of president of Noble Hospital in Westfield. I opened my store - the Little Black Dog Gallery & Bookshop four years ago because I am a watercolor artist as well as an author.

There are many challenges to running an art gallery and book store, especially having to compete with giant bookstores. We can't compete with price or selection, so we compete by being unique. We are primarily an art gallery with a small selection of good books, creative toys, and unique gifts.

And we have a very special location - a beautiful old Victorian hotel which also houses a cozy cafe and the Pilgrim Candle gift shops. Young people who are enjoying "The Liberty Pole" might also enjoy some of my other historic fiction books - "Nothing to Fear" (set in the Great Depression), "The Primrose Way" (set in Ipswich, in the 1600's) and "Someday" (About the flooding of four towns in central Massachusetts to create the Quabbin Reservoir.)